Agent Or Airline Cheaper

[Rob5060]

A friend of mine just flew with Air Asia Bangkok to Chiang Mai and says he got a cheaper fare from an agent than online

Anybody else had this, I always assumed online was the best

[thrilled]

The airline usually isn't cheaper,especially flying intrernationally.About flying in Thailand I find Nok air and Air Asia at good prices,I've never had an agent in Thailand

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The airlines are usually a bit higher. They don't want to be seen to compete with their agents.

[Tatsujin]

My fiancee is Manager of a Travel Agency and from what I have seen here it is ALWAYS cheaper to buy thru an Agent rather than direct thru an airline (unless it's those special lottery 'deals' that AirAsia often run for 1 baht IF you are lucky enough to get one of them and IF it's at a time that suits you! lol). The Agents have pretty good relationships with the airlines and can usually offer a much cheaper price, especially if you can book more than 4 weeks in advance. Leave it til the last minute tho (as most people seem to do) and you'll be sh*t out of luck getting any tickets at all usually.

Tats

[ignis]

Been checking it out for the past month and yes you get a much better price booking with a Travel Agency.

It appears that the Travel Agent gets the fare at a discount 4 - 6 weeks before departure, where online it is still full fare until departure.

[theoldgit]

I always thought an agent was cheaper but it's not always the case. I wanted to fly to Singapore later in the month, I checked the Cathay Pacific website and they quoted me 13,100 for two people for return flights, I went into one agent, and called a couple of others and they all said that fare was no longer available, but they could offer me SIA or Thai at about 17,000 - Air Asia was 16,500 on the day I wanted. I then went back home and booked the "no longer available" cheap fare online. Not a lot in it really, but it certainly does pay to shop around.

[ignis]

Also what is one price today maybe different tomorrow.

End of March was going to Perth AUS... Major Airlines 26 - 28,000 baht online... via Travel Agent 20 - 21,000 baht..

Change of plan, maybe going to KL end of March, checking yesterday Promotion with Air Malaysia via agent 5,285 baht, cheaper than direct online..

This morning same flight direct online with Air Malaysia to KL main airport.. Total price including tax: THB 4545.00...... 227 baht cheaper than flying with Air Asia to LCCT [KL]

[Trickcyclist]

airline seats have a shelf life-once the flight departs those seat revenues are gone forever. Once flew to Nice from LHR with Easyjet and on the way home standby fares to London from Nice were just a tenner: might as well have the tenner and sell a meal and drinks than have an empty seat.

if they depart empty, well..

therefore the pukkah airlines sell-off blocks of seats to big agents/wholesaler/agents (Trailfinders etc) at a discount.

the discounts are used by the intermediaries to entice the customer: ads in newspapers, web etc..

sometimes the discounts are available, sometimes not.

It's not an exact science and depends on the vagaries of humanity, seasons, demand, weather, economy, how sharp the airline marketing people are etc etc.

Budget airlines like RyanAir e.g. generally do not use agents, as far as I know. They sell purely on price, direct on the web, phone. Air Asia seem to be mixing the formula of direct sales/agency sales about a bit.

Low season low price, high season high price: try getting a low fare from RyanAir in times of high demand and you will find that they are just as expensive as any other mainstream national airline and they will milk the market with high prices for all it is worth during periods of high demand e.g. sporting events when there is mass demand from thousands of desperate travelling fans.

Moreover, service during times of disruption/delay may be nil from the budget airlines.

The less you pay the more you may be going out on a limb in relation to service, comfort and safety.